Nature Sound Recordists Campout

Each year since 2003, a group of ten to twenty people has gathered for the purposes of sharing and recording natural sounds. The group has included sound artists, composers, birders, biologists, naturalists, media educators, filmmakers, news reporters and trackers. All have shared an interest in learning what nature has to give to their ears and the best methods for detecting and capturing these experiences. The primary learning tools have been shared excursions, in-field demonstrations, collective camping and conversation. We have enjoyed the presence of recordists with many years of experience and great intimacy with the natural surroundings as well novices eager to soak-up everything about the techniques and the environment as they can. Everyone has been welcomed and all have left fulfilled.

Crex Meadows Map

Chicago Sound Artist Paul Dickinson, photo by Paul Gaudynski

For Spring 2010, a group will be gathering at the largest Wildlife Area in the state of Wisconsin, Crex Meadows. Crex Meadows is 30,000 acres of wetland, pine barrens, and woodland. The area is additionally surrounded by many square miles of State and County Forest as well as nearby Fish Lake Wildlife Area and the St. Croix River, a Federally protected Wild River. A seven-hour drive from Chicago and a two-hour drive from Minneapolis, the site will be at the height of activity during Spring songbird migration. We are currently determining the exact date from the first 3 weekends in May. We’ll have cabins with bunk beds and a mess hall for preparing and sharing meals. The fee for the three-day event will be very reasonable.

Contact Rich Peet richpeet@comcast.net or Rob Danielson type@uwm.edu and they will include you in the planning process.